Today we are covering several more wrong-way collisions, drivers, events and incidents on our nation's interstate highways. I've been following these for several years hoping to make people more aware of how they occur and more importantly how to avoid being a wrong-way driver. If you get clobbered by one it's likely you will be seriously injured or even killed. So knowing how to avoid them is equally important. I post more of these than I really would like to be writing about, but it is what it is so here are more news stories telling us all about wrong-way drivers across the United States. At the end in the footer I’ll list my suggestions on how to avoid wrong-way drivers and how to avoid being a wrong-way driver. Enough said; if you’re injured by one give me a call and we can talk about your legal rights. Onward we march...

Police: Wrong Way Driver from Port Washington Arrested for DWI in Wantagh
Patch
At 2:10 am a Nassau County Police Ambulance Technician observed a driver operating a 2010 Toyota Corolla eastbound in the westbound lanes on Sunrise Highway ...
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Woman hit by wrong-way driver says she feels lucky to be alive
KOB.com
Police say Holmes, 26, was driving drunk at a speed of well over 100 miles per hour the wrong way on I-25 south of Santa Fe. Holmes died on impact after ...
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Cops: 15th wrong-way DWI driver
Newsday
16, 2010) A Port Washington man is at least the 15th driver in the past seven weeks to be arrested and charged with driving drunk and the wrong way on a ...
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Three Hurt in Wrong-Way Crash in Orange
WSHM-TV
Police say the driver, a woman from Vermont, was driving with a suspended license. Both she and her female passenger are in critical condition and were ...
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Deputies identify woman killed in wrong-way I-94 crash
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The driver, Leopoldo R. Salas Gaytan, 41, of Milwaukee, was hospitalized after the crash. The sheriff's department is considering recommending charges that ...
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Website aims for fewer fatalities on roads
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Kirsty Kilpela, 16, of Eveleth, is the lone 2010 victim; her death came on Oct. 7 after a wrong-way driver struck a truck being driven by her sister, ...
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Cops: Another Wrong-way DWI in Bellmore
Long Island Press
The 25-year-old driver was stopped and found to be under the influence of an alcohol, police said. No injuries were reported. Jay was charged with driving ...
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Bothell woman to serve 7 years for fatal wrong-way DUI crash
KING5.com
Spink pleaded guilty to driving drunk and heading the wrong way on Broadway under the 41st overpass in South Everett. Her truck hit the car Blair was ...
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2 more nabbed on LI in wrong-way incidents
Newsday
15, when off-duty New York City police officer Andre Menzies of North Babylon was killed in a head-on collision by an accused wrong-way driver on the ...
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Cops: 15th wrong-way DWI driver nabbed | Bellmore, New York ...
Galleries Drivers stopped at DWI checkpoint Suspected wrong-way DWI drivers Seven spots where LIers see dangers Map Wrong-way drivers on LI A Port Washington man is at least the 15th driver in the past seven weeks to be arrested and ...
Bellmore, New York LocalSpur... - http://bellmore.localspur.com/

Mims woman dies after car struck by wrong-way driver Thursday night
Orlando Sentinel
Michael A. Sanchez, 47, of Oviedo was the driver of the SUV, troopers said. The crash remains under investigation, and charges are pending.
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Wrongway driver arrested on suspicion attempting to evade police
Abilene Reporter-News
By Jaime Adame A woman driving the wrong direction on the Winters Freeway for at least three miles Sunday night finally stopped after her SUV ran over ...
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Alleged Wrong-Way Driver Arrested for DWI in Brentwood
Long Island Press
... early Sunday when a Suffolk County police officer allegedly observed the man driving his vehicle the wrong way on Wheeler Road in Central Islip. ...
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Driver in Deadly Wrong Way Crash Identified
Today's TMJ4
MILWAUKEE (AP) -- The Milwaukee County Sheriff's Department identified the motorist accused of driving the wrong way down a freeway and causing a collision ...
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Two Wrong-Way Drivers, Winter Sports Action and the Last of the Holidays
Patch
By Patch Staff | Email the author | 6:00am A North Bellmore man was arrested in West Babylon for a DWI after driving the wrong way on Sunrise Highway. ...
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'Wrong way' road crash man dead
BBC News
A spokesman for Kent Police said the Rover driver died at the scene and the Jeep driver suffered serious injuries. No-one else was involved with the ...
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Milwaukee woman killed in wrong-way crash on I-94 West
FOX6Now.com Milwaukee
Police say the driver of the vehicle headed the wrong way is 41-year-old Leopoldo R. Salas Gaytan. Gaytan received serious injuries and is currently ...
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DWI deaths drop; impaired driving persists
Newsday
The recent spate of wrong-way drivers on major highways in Nassau and Suffolk counties, most of whom face DWI charges, has spotlighted the often-lethal ...
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Mims woman dies of injuries after crash
Florida Today
A 25-year-old Mims woman has died from injuries suffered in a crash with a wrong-way driver on North Courtenay Parkway on Merritt Island, ...
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Wrong-way driver causes fatal Milwaukee collision « WRJC Radio ...
By WRJC
41-year-old driver, he struck two vehicles. A 34-year-old woman driving one vehicle was declared dead at the scene. The woman driving the other vehicle wasn 't hurt. WDJT-TV says the wrong-way driver suffered severe injuries. He ...
WRJC Radio - Mauston, Juneau... - http://www.wrjc.com/

CBS 58 News - Wrong way driver causes first crash fatality of the ...
According to the Milwaukee Sheriff's Department at around 7:15 am a MCSO Patrol Division Deputy was speeding to catch a wrong way driver in a red Nissan ...
www.cbs58.com/index.php?aid=15523

News brief: Rochester woman escapes head-on highway wreck with ...
By adminsharyn
Jessica J. Rios, 23, of Rochester, and Miguel Salinas, 31, of Lakewood, were traveling in this 1998 GMC pickup on state Route 512 when it was hit by a wrong- way driver on New Year's Day morning. By Sharyn L. Decker ...
Lewis County Sirens - http://www.lewiscountysirens.com/

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If you think wrong-way drivers on the Interstate Highway system is a once-in-a-while thing, think again. Look at these reports from Google. It seems like there is an epidemic of wrong-way collisions and crashes out there. We've had several wrong-way drivers and accidents in Iowa.

About wrong-way drivers

Wrong way drivers present an obvious danger to all motorists on our highways. 

The most recent available crash statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration indicates wrong way drivers are involved in 1.5 percent of all fatal crashes.

Drivers who travel the wrong way on one way highways generally fall into one of eight different categories:

• Intoxicated driver
• Older drivers who easily get confused
• Purposeful acts including attempts to commit suicide and criminals attempting to elude the police
• Inattentive drivers who mistake an off-ramp for an on-ramp
• Mental defect or disease
• Prescription drug intoxication
• Inexperience
• GPS providing incorrect, inaccurate or confusing information

Safety tips and information related to wrong way driver situations:

• Watch far ahead for signs of a possible wrong way driver, looking for signs similar to pending problems or developing emergency situations such as other traffic braking or swerving to avoid something, or the obvious - headlights coming in the opposite direction.
• Caution against driving long periods in the left lane on freeways, especially on curves and over a hill or any rise in the road where you aren’t able to clearly see ahead.
• Be aware that wrong way drivers usually drive in the passing lane believing they are actually on a two-lane highway.
• The most common types of wrong way crashes are head-on or sideswipe crashes.

What should you do if you see a wrong-way driver?

• Get to the shoulder and stop.
• If you can’t get to the shoulder, slow down and attempt to safely stop your vehicle by pulling to the right.
• Sound your horn.
• Put on your lights and flash the high beams.
• Call 9-1-1.
• Before getting in the car wear your seat belts.
• Drive in the right hand lane of travel on the Interstate.
• When passing or coming to the crest of a hill look ahead for a wrong-way driver making sure the lane is clear.
• Assume when in the left hand lane of a divided highway that you may come upon a wrong-way driver.
• When driving on a divided highway stay vigilant and pay attention to what is ahead of you. Avoid allowing distractions to take your attention off the road ahead.

How can drivers avoid wrong-way driving?

• Don’t drive drunk.
• When coming to a divided highway come to a complete stop, look at and read the signs, making sure you know which way to go.
• Don’t allow vehicles to the rear to rush you.
• Stay off the telephone when driving.
• Don’t allow distractions to interfere with being vigilant about your driving.
• If you’re a young driver, don’t drive when the other passengers are a distraction.
• If you’re an elderly driver, get evaluated once a year to see if your senses and skill level allow you to safely drive. Don’t be so stubborn about giving up your driver’s license that you ignore the signs of perception difficulties. Invest in and use a GPS.
• Pay particular attention when driving north for southbound wrong-way drivers. For whatever reason there were more of these direction wrong-way drivers than any other.
• Pay particular attention when driving after midnight and 2:30 a.m.

What else needs to happen to reduce wrong-way collisions?

• States could identify the locations of repeated wrong-way entry points. Those points could be redesigned including tire puncture equipment such as we see in use at most parking ramps.
• The Court’s must get very tough on drunk drivers and those who cause collisions from being on cell phones (talking or texting); more than they already have been.
• The DOT should begin an education campaign for drivers to recognize and avoid wrong-way drivers.
• The DOT should begin an education campaign to instruct drivers what to do when a wrong-way driver approaches.
• States should further study wrong-way avoidance road and sign designs.
• State DOT’s should consider a different middle line design with hash marks bent in the direction of travel and against the opposing direction.
• Juries in civil actions need to send a clear message to offenders with large punitive damage awards.
• The DOT needs to evaluate older drivers annually for visual and mental awareness; taking away driving privileges where there is risk.
• Lawyers need to plead punitive damages in wrong-way collisions.
• Victims need to be educated on what to do when they are involved in a wrong-way collision.
• Witnesses of wrong-way collisions need to get involved with identifying themselves to police officers investigating a wrong-way collision. Those witnesses may have very valuable information to helping identify the entry points, causes and preventive measures.
• DOT accident forms need to be amended to allow the collection of information to identify characteristics associated with causing wrong-way entry points, times when wrong-way collisions are most likely to occur and driver characteristics of those likely to drive the wrong-way. Children and friends of older drivers need to get involved with identifying those likely wrong-way drivers.
• States should consider a radio system that would allow public service interruptions, like what is done on television when a weather emergency is eminent. It wouldn’t be perfect (not all radios are on) but something is perhaps better than nothing.